my rocking, socking groove

This is what is on my needles right now. I got to knit quite a bit on the weekend and then haven't touched them since. I have started my Christmas knitting and this lovely pair are for Papaya. I tried the finished sock on her while she was sleeping to ensure that I had the correct size. These were suppose to be for Bugsy but I thought I would run out of yarn as I only have two skeins. As it turned out there was still plenty left on the first skein. But who knew that?

Pattern: Most Basic Kid's Socks

Designed by: Evelyn Skae for Strings n'Things Designs

Found: Ravelry

a sunday hike

Even though it was cloudy the day was so beautiful that we needed to get out and away from home. At first the girls resisted but once they were on the trail, a magical thing happened and their attitudes were transformed. They were laughing, running and chasing our dog. Good things happen outdoors!

Our snow free days really could be numbered. We have gotten snow before Halloween. So there really was no time like the present to venture outdoors.

A stop for some pictures

Play hide and seek And a rest at the top to enjoy the view!

not the saturday i expected

I killed a dog today.
I ran over it in the middle of street.
I was suppose to be meeting with a friend at church to practise some stuff. She wasn't there. I tried to call her but she didn't answer. That wasn't a surprise. She doesn't always make it to the phone. So I thought I would drive by her house before I gave up on her.

Two girls were at dance. Youngest was in the back.
I was thinking random thoughts.
It was quiet.
I know the route.
I didn't expect anything abnormal.

Then a dog dashed across the road. I thought it came from in front of a van.
I swerved away, but couldn't react fast enough.
A thud. The shock. My brakes screeching.

I got out to see two kids, about 3 and 5, unloading from a van.
It was their dog. It was suffering in the middle of the road.
Their Mom hustled them inside the house.
One of the boys had opened their van door just before I passed and the dog jumped straight in front of us. It didn't have a chance. Doesn't make it easy though.

I have three girls and a dog. I know what it would be like if it was the other way around.
I wasn't suppose to be there at that moment. I shouldn't have been if plans had gone the way I thought.

Heavy-hearted.
Sad.

this is fall....

This

is
what
fall

is all about!

Don't you agree?

momma?

We are enjoying fall, the cool mornings, the little bit of schedule again. The final flowers still holding out and surprising us with their beauty. We are also enjoying the harvests of fall such as apples, tomatoes and pears. Our youngest decided to go apple picking on her own. She got an old tin climbed the tree and spent awhile enjoying the fall harvest. Her question to me was "Momma do I have enough now for an apple pie?" I think today I will make sure that she does.

the contractor life

Once upon a time, there was a way of doing business that held a man to his word. A handshake was considered to be a pledge. A man's word that he would do as he said. Somewhere in history that all changed and now we have legally binding agreements that hold us to contracts made.

That is a little preface to our life lately. We live the life of a "contractor". The nature of our business really doesn't matter. We are a small business that provides services to other companies, so that they can have work completed that they can't do internally.

We, or really the Big Cheese, has signed many contracts. Contracts that often require a deposit, in addition to a signature to indicate that we/he is serious about completing this work. It is Big Company's security that their work will get done. That way if we don't deliver...they get the deposit. Always, always "they" are protected.

But what happens when that grace, that trust, that favour isn't extended the other way? What happens when Big Company says to Little Contractor, who has done exceptional work for many years, that you will get the work again next year as long as you continue to perform? What happens when Big Company says to Little Contractor, you performed, well done, the work is yours again!? What happens when Big Company changes its mind, even though it made promises to Little Contractor?

And most of all what happens when Big Company decides that quality, commitment and relationship are no longer important?

These decisions are being made by big companies everyday. That the quality of the job, the right people, the experience of the workforce and previously made commitments are no longer important. We have become a dispensible. It doesn't matter if you have the equipment and man-power and can deliver the needed services.

No, it seems that now the true mark of a good company is if you can manage to have the lowest bid and somehow manage to continue survive. Squeeze water from a rock anyone?

There I said it! It ain't pretty. It ain't nice. But sometimes life seems like that. Sometimes we want life to be fair, but is it really?

taking a break

We needed a walk today, really bad!

I will tell you more later, as I have to go!

felted clogs

Remember when I showed you my monster slippers?

Well they weren't really! But all you smart knitters and crafters figured that out pretty quick. They were actually a pair of Felted Clogs by Fiber Trends.

~

It was a really fun knit for me. Totally something that I had never tried before. Truth be told I had to re-cast the first slipper about 6 times and then I still had some technical difficulties. I persisted though and finally birthed, I mean produced, a comfy and wearable pair of slippers.

~

I have to say that I had to exercise great restraint after felting the slippers. It took about 5 days for them to dry enough to be wearable. Now they don't leave my feet! Okay I take them off for bed, and when I leave the house but not much else. Especially as our mercury starts to dip lower and lower.

~

Would I make them again? Absolutely. Would I make changes? No, I would just know better how to "manage" the shaping of the project.

~

All in all my footsies are happy!

my fairy has landed

Today Boo-boo was invited to a birthday party.

The theme happened to be fairies and we just happened to have a fairy costume.Who can resist dressing up a little girl? I sure can't! Life doesn't get much more fun than that...being transported into another play world for just a few hours. No worries at all, not a single solitary one. Okay on second thought, she was quite excited about the possibility of goody bags!

Doesn't that just make your heart melt?

the salsa ladies

Gotta like doing a big job with a friend!
Thus making it an easy and fun job!

tuckered

i did salsa for most of the day today,

and that wasn't the dance by the way

came home and put my toes in my new homemade slippers,

which took forever to dry, like many days!

(more on that soon)

reworked boo-boo's $5 ballet skirt,

no more ties, just an elastic waist that she can pull on

(more on that too if you want)

started laundry

unloaded my load of salsa mess,

because we made it at church

it meant packing and unpacking today

i will be thankful all winter though!

oh yah, i started sewing a quilt together

for someone that is related to me!

that's all for now

i should sleep

and we should do school tomorrow

because we have been very bad this week!

but doing very good things!

one thing i wanted to do

Remember when I got back from holidays I told you about our great friends and our fun adventures? Well here is proof of some of the crazy things we have done. Friends of theirs somehow got ahold of a lion cub and raised it on their farm for a while. It was the most amazing thing ever to see!
Ever since college I have wanted to hug a lion. In National Geographic I saw a picture of a trainer hugging a lion and it kind tugged inside of me. I hung on to that picture for years. I loved it!

Anyways we finally got to see a lion up close. No fence! No barricade! Wow! It was kind of crazy because even though it was still a cub, you immediately knew it was "King of the Jungle"! This was no pussy cat! It didn't meow. It growled and while it didn't roar, the sounds that came out of it's mouth were wild, not tame and domestic. It's body and legs were muscular and thick and it could have easily taken down our golden retriever if he had been around.

To be honest I was nervous and watching my kids, who were then 7, 5 and 2, like a hawk. And even though it was only a cub, I couldn't quite manage to slide my arms around it's neck and squeeze!

And apparently neither could my husband!
While the girls were on the trampoline, the lion decided to get on too. They weren't 100% sure about this.

And our friends son was even less convinced, especially when the lion decided to play he wanted to play.

Just thought I would show you it really happened. And for those that are concerned the family did send the lion back to the zoo, where I think it has stayed since.

Photos from 2007

here comes dinner

The boys went fishing the other day and came back very happy. My hubby and his friend along with his son went on an overnight fishing trip.

They had a great time and came back with two sockeye salmon each. Sockeye is really good salmon. I know my mother has her opinion about salmon. It's not her favourite! Just like she isn't crazy about lasagna. But we forgive you because we love you!

To me a good salmon is a really yummy meal. In terms of eating I prefer a sockeye over a spring salmon anytime. All the salmon they caught were silver (very good) and not red (bad)! "Red" salmon at this time of the year have gotten really beaten up by the river and spawning etc and are not a great eating fish.

This year they tried their hand at fly fishing which they hadn't done before. It sounded like a lot of fun. Next year, we really want to make more time for it. Maybe I might even have to get hip waders on and try!?

For now though we can keep hoping for a little more fish!

my favorite picture of the day

We went and played outside. I took quite a few pictures but this one might just be my favorite of the day!

monster slippers?

tuesday's thoughts

Then came time came when the risk it took

To remain tight in bud was more painful
Than the risk it took to blossom
-ANAIS NIN

i'm sticky

This is the pile that awaited me today. I didn't really plan to do it on Labor Day. I just really wanted to can peaches and well, they were ready to go today.

So, with some happy helpers we started our day. I couldn't believe just how much help they were. Both of them were so excited and stayed positive all day. Their job was slipping the peaches from their skins. It really saved me alot of time! YAY! The only fight was when one of them wanted to change places at the sink. Let's just say that did not go over well!

And here is the fruit of our labour, no pun intended! We also made a few quarts of peach pie filling. So I am hoping it will turn out well!

And these are my nails after a day of canning peaches. I add this because last night we were at friends and their teenage daughter wanted to do my nails. Badly! I said "alright" but told her they probably wouldn't make it through the day. Oh well! I looked glamarous while I slept! There has to be some merit in that!

knitting with wasps & bees

After I had play dates arranged and kids fed, I finally found myself on the deck. On the way I grabbed my knitting bag and an iced tea. I was set to enjoy the waining days of summer. Or maybe I was welcoming the early days of fall. Regardless, it was too nice to be house bound.

I thought that I might be able to have some quiet time to myself, after all the kids were playing with friends and husband was gone fishing. That mostly happened but not entirely because the wasps and bees were delighted by the dying cosmos and straw flower plants on my deck. They were coming a dozen at a time. They were so distracting that I finally finished my iced tea. That way I got rid of them and in essence we made peace for the rest of the afternoon. They got their flowers and I got quiet and knitting. And I almost ALMOST got my project done. Would have, should have but I had to start dropping off and picking up kids and then we went to friends to see the fish the boys caught....more of that tomorrow!

summer wedding

This summer on our travels we went to my nephew's wedding. Our girls were over the moon excited about it. What little girl isn't? I think they talked about it all summer. Yes, shoes and dresses make little girls hearts sing...it is sweet, but kind of crazy too!

Anyways, I have been very slow to load up any pictures. Life kind of takes over! Usually I am a SOOC (straight-out-of camera) kind of girl. I have photoshop elements but haven't done much with it. It really feels like a hard program to learn. Like giving birth and raising children, my version didn't come with an owner's manual. And I ask, "Just what are all those buttons in there for anyway?"

But not wanting to be put off forever, I thought I would try to do some fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants editting.

Here is the original:

And here is the editted version. I did something that blurred the background and then changed the picture to black & white. Not out of this world or anything...but I tried. I don't really get the "layers" in PE. Anyone understand that?P.S. If you happen to be blessed enough to be related to me or one of the people in these photos feel free to save them or print them for your own use.

playing hide & seek

Our oldest daughter loves her puppies. The real live one and her webkinz ones.

She also is always up for some fun, so when no one else is around she gets her favourite dog to play along. After a few tries he learned the rules of hide and seek.

It really funny to watch them play this game. She makes him lie down in the kitchen, tells him to stay and covers his head with an old rag. Then she takes off and hides. While he patiently waits. And waits. When she is ready she calls out and he comes sniffing. They will play this over and over. When he finds her, he gets all excited and runs back to the kitchen for the rag, which starts the game all over.If I show up during the game I get recruited to help Jesse hide...behind couches and doors, under pillows and blankets and as tucked away in a corner as possible for an 80 lb dog.

Silly but true! I love childhood and their imaginations.

it's in the eyes

Look closely in the eyes and you can see the reflections of her day!

happy anniversary mom & dad

Today is my parent's 49th wedding anniversary.

Congratulations on coming this far!

Above is the picture of them that they would want everyone to see.

At least I think they would.

And here is the picture of them, well....how we usually see them!

Can't you just see the mischief on my Dad's face?

the bush cook

Not sure any of my family has seen me as a bush cook. Remember back in May when I whisked out to save the camp from a sick cook? Well this was then. A friend just sent it to me. Looks like I was running on pure adrenline because I was definately not getting much sleep!